Observations of the interplanetary magnetic field between 0. 46 and 1 AU by the Mariner 10 spacecraft. Ph. D. thesis: Catholic Univ. of Am

Technical Report · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1976

OSTI ID:7327962

Behannon, K W

Almost continuous measurement of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) at a sampling rate of 25 vectors/s was performed by the magnetic field experiment onboard the Mariner 10 spacecraft during the period November 3, 1973 to April 14, 1974, comprising approximately 5-2/3 solar rotations and extending in radial distance from the Sun from 1 to 0.46 AU. A clearly discernible two-sector pattern of field polarity was observed during the last 3-1/2 months of the period, with the dominant polarity toward the Sun below the solar equatorial plane. Two compound high-speed solar wind streams were also present during this period, one in each magnetic field sector. Relative fluctuations of the field in magnitude and direction were found to have large time variations, but on average the relative magnitude fluctuations were approximately constant over the range of heliocentric distance covered, while the relative directional fluctuations showed a slight decrease on average with increasing distance. The occurrence rate of directional discontinuities was also found to decrease with increasing radial distance from the Sun. (auth)

• Research Organization: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Greenbelt, Md. (USA). Goddard Space Flight Center
• OSTI ID: 7327962
• Report Number(s): N-76-16994; NASA-TM-X-71043; X-692-76-2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640105* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Galaxies
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
FLUCTUATIONS
INTERPLANETARY MAGNETIC FIELDS
LEAST SQUARE FIT
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAXIMUM-LIKELIHOOD FIT
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
SOLAR ACTIVITY
SOLAR WIND
TIME DEPENDENCE
VARIATIONS